In recent years, solar cells that are capable of converting sunlight to electric energy have been used as a petroleum-alternative energy source. Examples of the solar cell include a single crystal type solar cell, a polycrystalline type solar cell, an amorphous type solar cell or the like, or the combination thereof. Normally, the plurality of solar cells are connected in series or in parallel and used as a solar cell module.
A sectional view in FIG. 13 illustrates a configuration of a conventional solar cell module 100. The solar cell module 100 has a structure in which a plurality of solar cells 10 are connected by a tab 12. The tab 12 connects a first electrode 14 on a light receiving surface side of the solar cell 10 and a second electrode 16 on a back surface side of the adjacent solar cell 10. Here, the tab 12 has bent parts 12a in order to provide a level difference for a thickness of the solar cell 10.
Also, in order to effectively utilize light made incident on a surface of the tab 12 on the light receiving surface side of the solar cell 10, the tab 12 that is used has recesses and projections on the surface. With such a tab 12, the light made incident on the surface of the tab 12 is scattered by the recesses and the projections, reflected by a sealing material 18 (glass or the like) that seals the solar cell 10 further, and guided from an area not provided with the tab 12 to the solar cell 10. Thus, the light reflected on the surface of the tab 12 is also made to effectively contribute to power generation, and power generation efficiency of the solar cell module 100 is improved.